Silvio Berlusconi came to power in the early 1990s, at a time when the entire political system in Italy had collapsed following revelations of massive corruption. With the message and party name Forza Italia – “Cheer Italy” – he had a big impact in the golden era of tableau television.
The country had until then been divided between those who turned towards the West and a large proportion who voted for the Italian Communist Party.
— After the collapse of the political system that followed the fall of the Berlin Wall, Berlusconi stepped forward and divided the country even more sharply into two parts, between those who were for him and those who were against him, says Nicola Pasini, who is a political scientist at the Università degli studi di Milano , in Berlusconi’s hometown.
“Understood Communication”
Berlusconi was then a new type of politician who “hated parliament”, as Pasini puts it. The major daily La Repubblica calls Berlusconi “the creator of populism”.
“He understood before anyone else how important communication is,” says Pasini.
— He also understood that he could become very popular through the world of sports and he became very loved among the popular classes who had previously voted for the left.
When a more restrained and traditional body of politicians had been shown to be unbridledly corrupt, Silvio Berlusconi did the opposite, appearing with scantily clad young women and big smiles.
— Although he appeared as corrupt as the previous politicians, he managed to present himself roughly: “I’m already rich, therefore I can’t be corrupt”. The others’ message had been that they were responsible for law and order, said Rolf Hugoson, political scientist with Italian knowledge at Umeå University, to TT in an interview last year.
— They tried to cover up their corruption. Berlusconi was more honest: “I like money and luxury, vote for me”.
Silvio Berlusconi in a political program on Italian television during the election campaign in 2001. Liberal revolution
Silvio Berlusconi has had a huge impact on Italy, for better or for worse, according to Nicola Pasini. He is the person who has been prime minister in Italy for the longest time, but has always sat in opposition to an establishment.
“Berlusconi stood for a liberal revolution where competition and the role of the market were promoted, which rested heavily on the interests of the big companies,” says Pasini.
— He was against state-owned Italy and understood that the middle class was a great advocate of consumption. With his own companies and through television, he captured the social change in Italy and gained a leading role in the country’s economic policy.
Scandals were revealed at regular intervals and new court cases loomed all the time. But in the recent Italian elections, Silvio Berlusconi was once again on the winning side. At the time, however, it was in a supporting role behind the more radical far-right parties that have grown in size alongside his movement.
— And he suffered a lot from that, because he always considered himself the great leader of the centre-right, says Nicola Pasini.